Witnesses chase down driver after hit-and-run that injured boy

Vicksburg 9-year-old hospitalized in critical condition

UPDATED 10:08 AM CDT Apr 18, 2013

VICKSBURG, Miss. -

A 9-year-old boy was listed in critical condition at a local hospital after he was injured in a hit-and-run crash in Vicksburg, police said.

The boy, who has been identified as Kenneth Hall Jr., was riding his bike near his grandmother's house when he was hit by a vehicle, authorities said. The crash happened at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday on Redbone Road near Bernie Drive, police said.

"The dude got out of the truck and was like, 'You're going to be OK.' Then he got back in the truck and ran," a witness told 16 WAPT News.

Witnesses chased the vehicle to Highway 61.

"I spun around and went down Highway 61 and blocked him in, and wouldn't let him leave until the police got there," the witness said.

Officers arrested Alvin Edward Willis, 49, of Vicksburg, and charged him with aggravated DUI and leaving the scene of an accident, which is a felony, police said. He was being held Wednesday on a $250,000 bond.

"They (witnesses) played a major part in (officers) being able to apprehend Mr. Willis," Chief Walter Armstrong said. "Mr. Willis, in fact, had a very, very high alcohol level and he had no business operating a vehicle, and certainly a bad thing happened as a result of the poor action that he took."

Hall, who is a student at Warrenton Elementary School, suffered severe head trauma and broken bones, police said. He underwent surgery Wednesday morning at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, police said.

"He's a sweet, kind little boy. I never had any problems with him. I'm heartbroken," the witness said.

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